By Alena Rivers and Hal Patnott

As graduate assistants in the Butler Children’s Literature Center and current students of the Master of Library and Information Science program at Dominican University, we are continuously exposed to new and classic children’s and young adult literature. We are challenged to read with our eyes wide open to the impact that a story can have on its young readers who, intuitively, look for books that relate to their own interests and experiences and shed light on their developing personalities. As librarians-in-training, we are learning how important it is to share books that encourage our readers to think beyond their experiences in order to build a bigger picture of the world around them.  Books with diverse characters benefit more than the populations they represent.

This week, we will be participating in a Mock Book Challenge as part of our LIS 777 : Issues of Access, Advocacy, and Policy course. The subject of our book challenge is Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. This exercise is serving as excellent preparation for what may be an inevitable experience for us during our library careers. Within this course and others, we have discussed intellectual freedom, the ALA’s position on censorship, and how censorship differs from selection. We have discussed how librarians can use their library’s collection development policy to support their stand on book challenges, and how crucial it is to have a clear and comprehensive policy to follow. Our discussions have been insightful but they have also generated questions that go beyond what happens when a book is challenged or banned.

Over the course of our first year in the GSLIS program, we have witnessed the critical reviews of several children’s and young adult books including A Birthday Cake for George Washington, A Fine Dessert, and more recently When We Was Fierce, There Is a Tribe of Kids and Ghost. In these cases, books have been pulled before publication, published but not recommended by reviewers, or recommended by mainstream review sources but not by others in the children’s/young adult literature community. How does censorship play a role in these early stages of a book’s introduction to its readers? How is communication about a book’s content impacted by censorship, which, in effect, tries to silence communication?

Nearly every one of these books has arrived in the Butler Center and their presence has generated discussion about the process that comes well before a book is challenged or banned in our school and public libraries. We see books before they are published and there is a whole conversation that happens before the books end up in, or get weeded from, a library based on outdated content. We wonder about the occasions, though, when a contemporary book, as opposed to one published in a long-ago, less-enlightened era, misrepresents an oppressed group of people. Books like those mentioned above are new and coming under fire, rightfully so, because of misrepresentations of characters and their experiences.

In our quest to delve deeper into these topics and to write our own reviews with a critical and informed eye on the content of the books we have found that more and more, what others in children’s and young adult literature already know; there is a great absence in the number of authors/illustrators, publishers and reviewers from diverse backgrounds who can create and evaluate stories dominated by diverse characters. The incident at VOYA this last week is a prime example of the thoughtless and hurtful errors that can occur because of a lack of diversity and understanding.

Another issue arises when we put authors on a pedestal because of their previous acclaim. Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier received starred reviews in Booklist, SLJ, Publishers Weekly, and Kirkus. Her work was praised in these reviews for its diversity, but as Debbie Reese pointed out in her review, the diversity was superficial. We expect better of authors like Telgemeier, but ultimately they aren’t perfect. They make mistakes. As Diane Foote commented last year on the Coretta Scott King Book Award electronic discussion list, “We expect a crappy book to be, well, crappy, and if its crappiness is also evident in poor cultural competency, well, that’s just to be expected, and we dismiss such a book. But in an otherwise high-quality production, the failure of even the most basic historical accuracy or cultural competency insults all of our high expectations, and insults young readers most of all.” If we stop reading with a critical eye because the author is someone whose past work we love, then we will miss opportunities for much needed conversations. Those conversations are an important part of intellectual freedom.

What conversations are you having this Banned Books Week?

By Alena Rivers and Hal Patnott

When we selected Grayling’s Song and The Inquisitor’s Tale for this week, we noticed a common theme of magical quests undertaken by ragtag teams that have to overcome their differences in order to work together. Each team of heroes relies on the special gifts of the individual members. The challenges they face help them grow, so that they can triumph over their personal struggles. What we didn’t expect was that in both stories rescuing books played a central role in the plot.

Stop by the Butler Center to take a look at our copy of Grayling’s Song and our advanced review edition of The Inquisitor’s Tale.

Grayling’s Song by Karen Cushman (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/Clarion, 2016)

Grayling’s mother, Hannah Strong is considered by their townspeople to be a wise woman and healer, but no one, not even Grayling, knows exactly from where Hannah Strong’s  powers to heal come. During a typical day of tending to their daily work, Grayling is summoned by her mother. When she arrives, Grayling finds their cottage home burning to the ground, and Grayling’s mother rooted to it as her body slowly takes the form of a tree. Neither Grayling nor her mother knows who committed these powerful acts, or why. When they discover that Hannah Strong’s grimoire, the book of spells and rituals, is missing,  Grayling is told to find “the others” who also possess various forms of magic and get help. This sets Grayling off on her quest with a gathering song to sing that will lead her to the others for help, locate the missing grimoire and restore her mother to her human form. These are no small tasks for someone who does not possess the same gifts as her mother and is otherwise unaware of the other healers and cunning folk that live among their kingdom. Grayling will have to summon her bravery, determination, intelligence, resourcefulness and her ability to care for and trust in the strangers who can support her on her journey. A small but motley crew is collected along the way with a unified goal of finding the source of what emerges to be a larger problem afflicting healers across the land.

Karen Cushman provides readers with an engaging story of a young girl’s progression from dependence and insecurity to self-reliance, confidence and the desire to develop her own self-awareness. The author’s note contains a brief explanation of cunning folk along with an overview of the history of herbal medicine, folk magic and divination.

The Inquisitor’s Tale by Adam Gidwitz, illuminated by Hatem Aly (Penguin/Dutton, 2016)

In 1242, King Louis IX rules over France. He hates peasants, Jewish people, and heretics. The latest enemies of his crown are three children and their holy greyhound. Rumors about these children have spread across the country. No one knows the whole story, but an unlikely group of travelers gathered at an inn share what they’ve witnessed. All of the travelers agree on one thing—the three children are saints with the powers to work miracles. Jeanne, a peasant girl, sees visions of the future—her dog Gwenforte came back to life. William, a monk with an appetite for knowledge, can shatter stone with his bare hands. Jacob, a Jewish boy, heals the sick and wounded with plants and prayer. They were outsiders even before they became outlaws. None of them chose their powers, but, in spite of their differences and danger, they choose to face their destinies together.

Adam Gidwitz skillfully weaves together medieval history and legend in The Inquisitor’s Tale. In the back matter he shares the historical inspiration for the characters and events as well as an annotated list of resources. A lighthearted, humorous tone and a central theme of overcoming personal prejudice against others make this medieval tale relevant for modern readers.

by Hal Patnott

Last week, I planned to write an entirely different post today, but, in the early hours of Sunday morning, everything changed. One hateful man with a semi-automatic assault rifle killed 49 people and injured over 50 more at Pulse, an LGBTQ nightclub in Orlando, Florida. This tragedy was not a random act of violence, but a deliberate act of hatred. During Pride Month–a time of year set aside for celebrating our community and our continued fight for equality–a violent and ignorant act ended the lives of 49 human beings with families, friends, and futures in one of the few spaces in our society where they should have been able to freely express themselves and their love. Let’s not forget, he also attacked on a night of cultural celebration. It was Latinx Night at Pulse. More than 90% of the victims belong to the Latinx community. The attack on Pulse was not an isolated incident of hatred either. Evidence from the National Coalition of Anti-Violence shows that LGBTQ People of Color face a significantly higher risk of homicide and violence. Those of us in the LGBTQ community grow up with messages from the media and our peers telling us not to exist. A survey conducted by the Human Rights Campaign reveals that LGBTQ youth are two times more likely than their peers to experience physical assault at school. The bullying doesn’t end when we grow up. We are accused of crimes we’ve never committed and then barred from fulfilling basic needs like using the bathroom.

In his address on Sunday following the massacre, President Obama said, “In the face of hate and violence, we will love one another. We will not give in to fear and turn against each other.” He reminds Americans that to continue to “actively do nothing” about the violence in our country “is a decision.” LGBTQ people live in every city across the United States, and, whether you realize it or not, we stand on both sides of the reference desk in the library. Since Sunday, leaders in the library profession have spoken out about the tragedy in Orlando. Sari Feldman, President of the ALA, promises in her statement that, “In defiance of fear, ignorance and intolerance, the library community will continue its profound commitment to transforming communities by lending its support.” The chair of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Round Table, Peter Coyl also writes, “Libraries can and should be safe places. Even if you are far from Orlando, there are those you serve who are affected by this tragedy. They are looking for help and hope.” Libraries must offer more than empty promises to serve everyone in the community.

So, this is the part when you may be asking how you can help. June is GLBT Book Month. It’s not too late to raise awareness by building a display or making finding aids like bibliographies to increase access for your patrons. Don’t stop at the end of the month, though. Recommend diverse books to all patrons all year round. GLBT books aren’t just for GLBT readers. Evaluate the collection you have and make sure you can provide patrons with representation for all sexual orientations, gender identities, racial, and ethnic backgrounds. If you don’t know where to start, the Rainbow List is an excellent resource. Consider how you catalog and where you shelve these materials. Above all, think critically about how you treat people. Watch out for the assumptions in your language about gender identity. Don’t contribute to a culture of hatred and fear by reacting with Islamophobia. Remember that everyone walks into the library with a different narrative and different needs. We say the library serves everyone, but as librarians it’s our responsibility to actively open the doors and welcome them.

We affirm and support the thoughts and recommendations outlined here, and aspire for the library community to be a model of service to all communities.

Janice M. Del Negro, associate professor

Diane Foote, assistant dean and curator, Butler Children’s Literature Center

Sujin Huggins, assistant professor

Kate Marek,  dean and professor

Alena Rivers, graduate assistant, Butler Children’s Literature Center